U.S. patent number 10,505,377 [Application Number 15/448,291] was granted by the patent office on 2019-12-10 for battery management apparatus and system.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.. The grantee listed for this patent is SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Jinyong Jeon.
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United States Patent |
10,505,377 |
Jeon |
December 10, 2019 |
Battery management apparatus and system
Abstract
A slave battery management apparatus includes a sensor
configured to sense a physical quantity of a battery; a voltage
converter configured to receive an output physical quantity from
the battery, to convert the output physical quantity into an
operating physical quantity corresponding to a physical quantity to
operate a controller, and to output the operating physical quantity
to the controller; and a controller configured to use the operating
physical quantity as an operating power and to transmit battery
data by using the operating physical quantity, wherein the battery
data is generated based on the sensed physical quantity.
Inventors: |
Jeon; Jinyong (Yongin-si,
KR) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. |
Suwon-si |
N/A |
KR |
|
|
Assignee: |
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
(Suwon-si, KR)
|
Family
ID: |
61240713 |
Appl.
No.: |
15/448,291 |
Filed: |
March 2, 2017 |
Prior Publication Data
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|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20180062403 A1 |
Mar 1, 2018 |
|
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
|
Aug 24, 2016 [KR] |
|
|
10-2016-0107803 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H02J
7/0021 (20130101); Y02T 10/70 (20130101); Y02T
10/7055 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H02J
7/00 (20060101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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2010-283918 |
|
Dec 2010 |
|
JP |
|
10-0207122 |
|
Jul 1999 |
|
KR |
|
20-0365244 |
|
Oct 2004 |
|
KR |
|
10-0540083 |
|
Jan 2006 |
|
KR |
|
10-2010-0089278 |
|
Aug 2010 |
|
KR |
|
10-2013-0045600 |
|
May 2013 |
|
KR |
|
10-2015-0011283 |
|
Jan 2015 |
|
KR |
|
10-2015-0069899 |
|
Jun 2015 |
|
KR |
|
Primary Examiner: Muralidar; Richard V
Attorney, Agent or Firm: NSIP Law
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A slave battery management apparatus, comprising: a sensor
configured to sense a parameter of a battery; a voltage converter
configured to filter output voltage of the battery, convert the
filtered output voltage into a first voltage, smooth the first
voltage, and output a signal by adjusting a magnitude of the
smoothed first voltage; and a controller configured to transmit
battery data by using the outputted signal as an operating power,
wherein the battery data is generated based on the sensed
parameter.
2. The slave battery management apparatus of claim 1, wherein the
voltage converter comprises: a filter configured to filter the
output voltage of the battery, a first converter configured to
convert the filtered output voltage into the first voltage, a
smoother configured to remove a ripple component from the first
voltage to smooth the first voltage, and a second converter
configured to adjust a magnitude of a ripple-free DC voltage
obtained by removing the ripple component from the DC voltage, the
ripple-free DC voltage corresponding to the smoothed first
voltage.
3. The slave battery management apparatus of claim 2, wherein the
second converter is further configured to step up the ripple-free
DC voltage in response to an operating voltage of the controller
being greater than or equal to an output voltage of the battery,
and to step down the ripple-free DC voltage in response to the
operating voltage being less than the output voltage.
4. The slave battery management apparatus of claim 2, wherein the
voltage converter further comprises: an insulator configured to
electrically insulate the battery from the controller.
5. The slave battery management apparatus of claim 1, wherein the
battery data comprises first parameter data corresponding to the
parameter, the controller is further configured to transmit the
first parameter data to a master battery management apparatus, to
receive a first control signal defined based on a result of a
comparison between first state information of the battery and a
reference value from the master battery management apparatus, and
to enter a sleep mode based on the first control signal, and the
first state information is determined based on the first parameter
data.
6. The slave battery management apparatus of claim 5, wherein the
voltage converter is further configured to perform a sensing
operation and a voltage conversion operation while being prevented
from performing other operations while the slave battery management
apparatus is in the sleep mode.
7. The slave battery management apparatus of claim 5, wherein in
response to the battery being charged, the battery data comprises
second parameter data corresponding to the parameter, and the
controller is further configured to transmit the second parameter
data to the master battery management apparatus, to receive a
second control signal from the master battery management apparatus
in response to second state information being greater than the
reference value, and to shift an operation mode from the sleep mode
to a normal mode based on the second control signal, and the second
state information is determined based on the second parameter
data.
8. The slave battery management apparatus of claim 5, wherein the
reference value is determined based on an operating time during
which the slave battery management apparatus operates using a
remaining amount of charge in the battery.
9. The slave battery management apparatus of claim 1, further
comprising: a DC-to-DC (DC/DC) converter configured to convert an
output voltage of the battery into a voltage to be output to a
load, wherein the battery data comprises state information
determined based on the sensed parameter, and wherein the
controller is further configured to control the DC/DC converter
using a control value corresponding to the state information.
10. The slave battery management apparatus of claim 1, wherein the
output signal is the only power source of the controller.
11. A battery management system comprising: a master battery
management apparatus; and at least one slave battery management
apparatus configured to communicate with the master battery
management apparatus, the slave battery management apparatus
comprises: a controller; a sensor configured to sense a parameter
of a battery; and, a voltage converter configured to filter output
voltage of the battery, convert the filtered output voltage into a
first voltage, smooth the first voltage, and output a signal by
adjusting a magnitude of the smoothed first voltage, wherein the
controller is configured to transmit battery data to the master
battery management apparatus by using the outputted signal as an
operating power, the battery data being generated based on the
sensed parameter.
12. The battery management system of claim 11, wherein the voltage
converter comprises: a filter configured to filter the output
voltage of the battery; a first converter configured to convert the
filtered output voltage into the first voltage; a smoother
configured to remove a ripple component from the first voltage to
smooth the first voltage; and a second converter configured to
adjust a magnitude of a ripple-free DC voltage obtained by removing
the ripple component from the DC voltage, the ripple-free DC
voltage corresponding to the smoothed first voltage.
13. The battery management system of claim 12, wherein the second
converter is further configured to step up the ripple-free DC
voltage in response to an operating voltage of the controller being
greater than or equal to an output voltage of the battery, and step
down the ripple-free DC voltage in response to the required voltage
being less than the output voltage.
14. The battery management system of claim 11, wherein the battery
data comprises first parameter data corresponding to the parameter,
the controller is further configured to transmit the first
parameter data to the master battery management apparatus, to
receive a first control signal from the master battery management
apparatus, and to enter a sleep mode based on the first control
signal, and the master battery management apparatus is configured
to determine first state information of the battery based on the
first parameter data, to define the first control signal based on a
result of comparison between the first state information of the
battery and a reference value, and to transmit the first control
signal to the controller.
15. The battery management system of claim 14, wherein in response
to the battery being charged, the battery data comprises second
parameter data corresponding to the parameter, the controller is
further configured to transmit the second parameter data to the
master battery management apparatus, to receive a second control
signal from the master battery management apparatus, and to shift
an operation mode from the sleep mode to a normal mode based on the
second control signal, and the master battery management apparatus
is further configured to determine second state information based
on the second parameter data, to define the second control signal
in response the second state information being greater than the
reference value, and to transmit the second control signal to the
controller.
16. The battery management system of claim 14, wherein the
reference value is determined based on an operating time during
which the slave battery management apparatus operates using a
remaining amount of charge in the battery.
17. The battery management system of claim 11, wherein the slave
battery management apparatus further comprises a DC-to-DC (DC/DC)
converter configured to convert an output voltage of the battery
into a voltage to be output to a load, the battery data comprises
state information determined based on the sensed parameter, and the
controller is further configured to control the DC/DC converter
using a control value corresponding to the state information.
18. The battery management system of claim 17, wherein the
controller is further configured to transmit the state information
to the master battery management apparatus, and the master battery
management apparatus is configured to determine the control value
that corresponds to the state information, based on a sensed value
of the load, and to transmit the control value to the
controller.
19. An operation method of a slave battery management apparatus,
the method comprising: sensing a parameter of a battery; filtering
output voltage of the battery; converting the filtered output
voltage into a first voltage; smoothing the first voltage;
outputting a signal by adjusting a magnitude of the smoothed first
voltage; and transmitting battery data by using the outputted
signal as an operating power, wherein the battery data is generated
based on sensed parameter.
20. The operation method of claim 19, wherein the smoothing of the
first voltage comprises removing a ripple component from the first
voltage, and the outputting of the operating power comprises
adjusting a magnitude of a ripple-free DC voltage obtained by
removing the ripple component from the DC voltage, the ripple-free
DC voltage corresponding to the smoothed first voltage.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)
This application claims the benefit under 35 USC .sctn. 119(a) of
Korean Patent Application No. 10-2016-0107803 filed on Aug. 24,
2016, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire
disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference for all
purposes.
BACKGROUND
1. Field
The following description relates to a battery management apparatus
and system
2. Description of Related Art
A battery pack operating an electric load, for example, a motor may
include a plurality of batteries. The plurality of batteries may be
connected in series.
To measure a voltage and a temperature of the plurality of
batteries, a plurality of battery management apparatuses may be
connected to the plurality of batteries, respectively. A power
source of the plurality of battery management apparatuses is
generally an external power source, for example, a separate and
distinct 12 volt (V)-battery. In this example, each of the
plurality of battery management apparatuses may require a wire
harness to receive a power from their respectively corresponding
external power source. Also, because the external power source
supplies a power to another electronic device, a change in load of
the other electronic device may affect the external power source.
Accordingly, the change in load may also affect each of the
plurality of battery management apparatuses receiving the power
from the external power source.
SUMMARY
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a
simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed
Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features
or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it
intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the
claimed subject matter.
According to a general aspect, a slave battery management apparatus
includes a sensor configured to sense a physical quantity of a
battery; a voltage converter configured to receive an output
physical quantity from the battery, to convert the output physical
quantity into an operating physical quantity corresponding to a
physical quantity to operate a controller, and to output the
operating physical quantity to the controller; and a controller
configured to use the operating physical quantity as an operating
power and to transmit battery data by using the operating physical
quantity, wherein the battery data is generated based on the sensed
physical quantity.
The voltage converter may include a filter configured to filter an
output voltage of the battery; a first converter configured to
convert the filtered output voltage into a direct current (DC)
voltage; a smoother configured to remove a ripple component from
the DC voltage; and a second converter configured to adjust a
magnitude of a ripple-free DC voltage obtained by removing the
ripple component from the DC voltage.
The second converter may be further configured to step up the
ripple-free DC voltage in response to an operating voltage of the
controller being greater than or equal to an output voltage of the
battery, and to step down the ripple-free DC voltage in response to
the operating voltage being less than the output voltage.
The voltage converter may further include an insulator configured
to electrically insulate the battery from the controller.
The battery data may include first physical quantity data
corresponding to the sensed physical quantity, and the controller
may be further configured to transmit the first physical quantity
data to a master battery management apparatus, to receive a first
control signal defined based on a result of comparison between
first state information of the battery and a reference value from
the master battery management apparatus, and to enter a sleep mode
based on the first control signal, the first state information
being determined based on the first physical quantity data.
The slave battery management apparatus may be further configured to
perform a sensing operation and a voltage conversion operation of
the voltage converter and prevented from performing other
operations in the sleep mode.
In response to the battery being charged, the battery data may
include second physical quantity data corresponding to a sensed
physical quantity of the charged battery, and the controller may be
further configured to transmit the second physical quantity data to
the master battery management apparatus, to receive a second
control signal from the master battery management apparatus in
response to second state information that is determined based on
the second physical quantity data being greater than the reference
value, and to shift an operation mode from the sleep mode to a
normal mode based on the second control signal.
The reference value may be determined based on an operating time
during which the slave battery management apparatus operates using
an amount of charge remaining in the battery.
The slave battery management apparatus may further include a
DC-to-DC (DC/DC) converter configured to convert an output voltage
of the battery into a voltage to be output to a load, wherein the
battery data comprises state information determined based on the
sensed physical quantity, and the controller may be further
configured to control the DC/DC converter using a control value
corresponding to the state information.
The voltage converter may be further configured to convert the
output physical quantity of the battery into the operating physical
quantity in lieu of receiving a voltage from an external power
source, and to output the operating physical quantity to the
controller.
According to another general aspect, a battery management system
includes a master battery management apparatus; and at least one
slave battery management apparatus configured to communicate with
the master battery management apparatus, the slave battery
management apparatus including a controller; a sensor configured to
sense a physical quantity of a battery; and, a voltage converter
configured to receive an output physical quantity from the battery,
to convert the output physical quantity into an operating physical
quantity corresponding to a physical quantity to operate the
controller, and to output the operating physical quantity to the
controller, wherein the controller is configured to use the
operating physical quantity as an operating power and transmit
battery data to the master battery management apparatus by using
the operating physical quantity, the battery data being generated
based on the sensed physical quantity.
The voltage converter may include a filter configured to filter an
output voltage of the battery; a first converter configured to
convert the filtered output voltage into a direct current (DC)
voltage; a smoother configured to remove a ripple component from
the DC voltage; and a second converter configured to adjust a
magnitude of a ripple-free DC voltage obtained by removing the
ripple component from the DC voltage.
The second converter may be further configured to step up the
ripple-free DC voltage in response to an operating voltage of the
controller being greater than or equal to an output voltage of the
battery, and step down the ripple-free DC voltage in response to
the required voltage being less than the output voltage.
The battery data may include first physical quantity data
corresponding to the sensed physical quantity, the controller may
be further configured to transmit the first physical quantity data
to the master battery management apparatus, to receive a first
control signal from the master battery management apparatus, and to
enter a sleep mode based on the first control signal, and the
master battery management apparatus may be configured to determine
first state information of the battery based on the first physical
quantity date, to define the first control signal based on a result
of comparison between the first state information of the battery
and a reference value, and to transmit the first control signal to
the controller.
In response to the battery being charged, the battery data may
include second physical quantity data corresponding to a sensed
physical quantity of the charged battery, the controller may be
further configured to transmit the second physical quantity data to
the master battery management apparatus, to receive a second
control signal from the master battery management apparatus, and to
shift an operation mode from the sleep mode to a normal mode based
on the second control signal, and the master battery management
apparatus is further configured to determine second state
information based on the second physical quantity data, to define
the second control signal in response the second state information
being greater than the reference value, and to transmit the second
control signal to the controller.
The reference value may be determined based on an operating time
during which the slave battery management apparatus operates using
an amount of charge remaining in the battery.
The slave battery management apparatus may further include a
DC-to-DC (DC/DC) converter configured to convert an output voltage
of the battery into a voltage to be output to a load, the battery
data may include state information determined based on the sensed
physical quantity, and the controller may be further configured to
control the DC/DC converter using a control value corresponding to
the state information.
The controller may be further configured to transmit the state
information to the master battery management apparatus, and the
master battery management apparatus may be configured to determine
the control value to correspond to the state information based on a
physical quantity of the load and to transmit the control value to
the controller.
According to another general aspect, an operation method of a slave
battery management apparatus includes receiving an output physical
quantity of a battery; converting the output physical quantity into
an operating physical quantity corresponding to a physical quantity
to operate a controller; and actuating the controller to transmit
battery data by using the operating physical quantity as an
operating power, wherein the battery data is generated based on
sensed physical quantity of the battery.
Other features and aspects will be apparent from the following
detailed description, the drawings, and the claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a slave battery management
apparatus and a master battery management apparatus.
FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a voltage converter.
FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a slave battery management
apparatus.
FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a plurality of slave battery
management apparatuses.
FIG. 5 illustrates an example of an operation mode of a slave
battery management apparatus.
FIG. 6 illustrates an example of an operation method of a slave
battery management apparatus.
FIG. 7 illustrates an example of providing battery state
information.
FIG. 8 illustrates another example of providing battery state
information.
Throughout the drawings and the detailed description, unless
otherwise described or provided, the same drawing reference
numerals will be understood to refer to the same elements,
features, and structures. The drawings may not be to scale, and the
relative size, proportions, and depiction of elements in the
drawings may be exaggerated for clarity, illustration, and
convenience.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The following detailed description is provided to assist the reader
in gaining a comprehensive understanding of the methods,
apparatuses, and/or systems described herein. However, various
changes, modifications, and equivalents of the methods,
apparatuses, and/or systems described herein will be apparent after
gaining a thorough understanding of the disclosure of this
application to one of ordinary skill in the art. The sequences of
operations described herein are merely examples, and are not
limited to those set forth herein, but may be changed as will be
apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, with the exception of
operations necessarily occurring in a certain order. Also,
descriptions of functions and constructions that are well known to
one of ordinary skill in the art may be omitted for increased
clarity and conciseness.
The features described herein may be embodied in different forms,
and are not to be construed as being limited to the examples
described herein. Rather, the examples described herein have been
provided merely to illustrate some of the many possible ways of
implementing the methods, apparatuses, and/or systems described
herein that will be apparent after gaining an understanding of the
disclosure of this application.
Hereinafter, reference will now be made in detail to examples with
reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference
numerals refer to like elements throughout.
Various alterations and modifications may be made to the examples.
Here, the examples are not construed as limited to the disclosure
and should be understood to include all changes, equivalents, and
replacements within the idea and the technical scope of the
disclosure.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing
particular examples only and is not to be limiting of the examples.
As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" are
intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context
clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the
terms "include/comprise" and/or "have" when used in this
specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers,
steps, operations, elements, components, and/or combinations
thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or
more other features, numbers, steps, operations, elements,
components, and/or groups thereof.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms including technical and
scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly
understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which examples
belong. It will be further understood that terms, such as those
defined in commonly-used dictionaries, should be interpreted as
having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the
context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an
idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined
herein.
When describing the examples with reference to the accompanying
drawings, like reference numerals refer to like constituent
elements and a repeated description related thereto will be
omitted. When it is determined that detailed description related to
a known function or configuration which would be likely to make the
purpose of the examples unnecessarily ambiguous in describing the
examples, the detailed description will be omitted here for clarity
and conciseness.
FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a slave battery management
apparatus and a master battery management apparatus.
Referring to FIG. 1, a battery management system includes a
plurality of slave battery management apparatuses 110 and 120 and a
master battery management apparatus 130.
The slave battery management apparatus 110 includes a voltage
converter 111, a sensor 112, and a controller 113. The slave
battery management apparatus 110 monitors or controls a respective
battery 140 from which the slave battery management apparatus 110
draws its own operating power.
The slave battery management apparatus 120 includes a voltage
converter 121, a sensor 122, and a controller 123. The slave
battery management apparatus 120 monitors or controls a battery 150
from which it also draws its own operating power. The battery 150
is connected to the battery 140 in series. Other configurations of
the batteries are possible. For example, one or more of the
batteries may be connected in series, in parallel, combinations of
the two, or in a reconfigurable array according to power needs.
Hereinafter, descriptions of a slave battery management apparatus,
according to one or more embodiments, will be provided based on the
slave battery management apparatus 110. The following descriptions
will be also applicable to the slave battery management apparatus
120.
The voltage converter 111 is electrically connected to the battery
140 and receives an output physical quantity (such as a voltage,
current, or other operational characteristic or parameter) of the
battery 140 from the battery 140. The voltage converter 111
converts the output physical quantity of the battery 140 into an
operating physical quantity corresponding to a required physical
quantity of the controller 113 (such as a suitable voltage for
operation of the slave battery management apparatus 110 inclusive
of the controller 113). The operating physical quantity indicates,
for example, an electrical physical quantity required to operate or
drive the controller 113. The voltage converter 111 converts an
output voltage of the battery 140 to correspond substantially to a
required, suitable, or effective voltage to operate the controller
113 and outputs the converted output voltage to the controller 113.
For example, when the output voltage of the battery 140 is 2.3
volts (V) and the required voltage of the controller 113 is 5 V
direct current (DC) voltage, the voltage converter 111 converts the
output voltage to substantially correspond to 5 V DC voltage. An
example of the voltage converter 111 will be described with
reference to FIG. 2.
The controller 113 uses the operating physical quantity as an
operating power. For example, the output voltage of the battery 140
is converted to correspond to the required voltage and thus, the
controller 113 uses the converted output voltage as the operating
power. In other words, a power supply source of the controller 113
is not an external power source, for example, a separate
12V-battery or a power supply but the same battery 140 that is
being monitored by the slave battery management apparatus 110. This
may be seen as counterintuitive because traditionally, the load
introduced by the sensor, converter, controller, according to
conventional approaches would result in an inaccurate reading of
the battery 140. For this reason, conventional battery management
apparatuses required use of a separate power source from the
battery being managed.
The slave battery management apparatus 110 uses the operating
physical quantity into which the output physical quantity of the
battery 140 as the operating power in lieu, or instead, of a
physical quantity supplied from an external power source to perform
a plurality of operations. For example, the slave battery
management apparatus 110 performs a sensing operation, an operation
of processing a sensed physical quantity, and a communicating
operation. In this example, the sensor 112 senses a physical
quantity of the battery 140. The sensor 112 includes, for example,
a voltage sensor, a current sensor, a temperature sensor, or
combinations thereof. A sensor included in the sensor 112 is not
limited to the aforementioned sensors but may include one or
combinations of two or more. The physical quantity of the battery
140 includes any one of a voltage, a current, a temperature, a
resistance, and an impedance of the battery 140 or combinations
thereof. Here, the voltage of the battery 140 indicates an output
voltage of the battery 140 and the current of the battery 140
indicates an output current of the battery 140.
The controller 113 receives the sensed physical quantity from the
sensor 112 and generates operational battery data based on the
sensed physical quantity. For example, physical quantity data
including voltage data, current data, and temperature data of the
battery 150 is generated.
The slave battery management apparatus 110 performs a communicating
operation. The controller 113 transmits the battery data to, for
example, the master battery management apparatus 130 or another
suitable device. For example, the controller 113 transmits (via
wired or wireless communication measures) the battery data to the
master battery management apparatus 130 through controller area
network (CAN) communication. The aforementioned communication of
the controller 113 is merely an example and thus, a type of
communication of the controller 113 is not limited thereto.
As discussed above, the operating power used in the communicating
operation may be the operating physical quantity into which the
output physical quantity of the battery 140 is converted.
The master battery management apparatus 130 receives the battery
data from the controller 113. For example, the master battery
management apparatus 130 receives the physical quantity data from
the controller 113. The master battery management apparatus 130
determines state information of the battery 140 based on the
physical quantity data. The master battery management apparatus 130
calculates a state of charge (SOC) and/or a state of health (SOH)
of the battery 140 based on the physical quantity data and
determines the SOC or the SOH to be the state information of the
battery 140. Also, the master battery management apparatus 130
determines a result obtained by multiplying the SOC by the SOH to
be the state information.
The master battery management apparatus 130 manages power of each
of the plurality of slave battery management apparatuses 110 and
120. The master battery management apparatus 130 compares the state
information of the battery 140 to a reference value. The reference
value is determined based on, for example, information on a period
of time during which the slave battery management apparatus 110 is
operable using an amount of charge remaining in the battery 140.
Hereinafter, an amount of charge remaining in a battery is also
referred to as a remaining capacity. As a comparison result, when
the state information of the battery 140 is less than or equal to
the reference value, the master battery management apparatus 130
defines a first control signal indicating, for example, "wake up
=off". The master battery management apparatus 130 transmits the
first control signal to the slave battery management apparatus 110.
The controller 113 changes an operation mode of the slave battery
management apparatus 110 based on the first control signal. Here,
the operation mode includes a normal mode and a sleep mode. The
slave battery management apparatus 110 operating in the normal mode
enters the sleep mode.
When the slave battery management apparatus 110 enters the sleep
mode, the sensing operation and a voltage conversion operation of
the voltage converter 111 among the plurality of operations of the
slave battery management apparatus 110 may be performed and
remaining operations may not be performed. For example, in the
sleep mode, the communicating operation is not performed. In the
sleep mode, the controller 113 uses the operating physical quantity
as the operating power, generates the physical quantity data by
processing the sensed physical quantity, and does not transmit the
physical quantity data to the master battery management apparatus
130. The aforementioned operations of the slave battery management
apparatus 110 in the sleep mode are merely an example and thus, an
operation of slave battery management apparatus 110 in the sleep
mode is not limited to the example. In the sleep mode, the slave
battery management apparatus 110 operates using a significantly
reduced and substantially minimal amount of power.
While the slave battery management apparatus 110 is in the sleep
mode, the battery 140 is charged. In this example, a voltage of the
battery 140 is increased or a current flowing into the battery 140
accumulates. The sensor 112 senses a physical quantity of the
battery 140 in a charged state, and transmits the sensed physical
quantity to the controller 113. The controller 113 generates
physical quantity data based on the sensed physical quantity. When
compared to the physical quantity data in an uncharged state, the
physical quantity data is changed due to the charging of the
battery 140. For example, a value of voltage and/or a value of
current increases. In this example, although the controller 113 is
in the sleep mode, the controller 113 may activate the
communicating operation temporarily by using the operating physical
quantity as the operating power, and transmits the physical
quantity data acquired during the charging to the master battery
management apparatus 130. When the slave battery management
apparatus 110 is in the sleep mode, and when the physical quantity
data changes due to the charging of the battery 140, the controller
113 may activate the communicating operation temporarily, and
transmits the physical quantity data to the master battery
management apparatus 130.
The master battery management apparatus 130 determines the state
information of the battery 140 based on the physical quantity data
acquired during the charging. The master battery management
apparatus 130 compares the state information to the reference
value. As a comparison result, when the state information is
greater than the reference value, the master battery management
apparatus 130 defines a second control signal indicating, for
example, "wake up =on". The master battery management apparatus 130
transmits the second control signal to the slave battery management
apparatus 110. The controller 113 changes the operation state of
the slave battery management apparatus 110 based on the second
control signal. Thereafter, the slave battery management apparatus
110 enters the normal mode. In the normal mode, the slave battery
management apparatus 110 performs a plurality of operations.
The slave battery management apparatus 110 receives its own
operating power from the sensing target battery (in lieu of an
external power source) and thus, the external power source and a
wire harness for power supply are omitted while retaining the
ability to operate the slave battery management apparatus and a
reasonable level of accuracy in measurements, which, amongst other
features significantly reduces a weight and complexity of such a
battery management system. Also, the slave battery management
apparatus 110 is able to avoid being affected by a change in a load
of another electronic device operating using power supplied from
the external power source.
FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a voltage converter.
Referring to FIG. 2, a voltage converter 200 includes a filter 210,
an insulator 220, a converter 230, a smoother 240, and a constant
voltage maintainer 250 employing electrical components as would be
known to one of skill in the art after gaining a thorough
understanding of the detailed description.
An output physical quantity of a battery is supplied to the voltage
converter 200. The output physical quantity is also referred to as,
for example, an output voltage.
The output voltage is input to the filter 210. The output voltage
of the battery vertically swings based on a charging and
discharging current pattern of the battery. As indicated by a
waveform 201, the output voltage is not constant and swings
vertically. Also, due to an operation of a load, for example, a
motor of the battery, the output voltage includes high-frequency
noise 202. In the waveform 201, the high-frequency noise 202
appears in the output voltage of the battery. The filter, according
to one or more embodiments, employs one or more capacitors,
resistors, bulk acoustic wave resonators or inductors. For example,
the filter may be a low-pass or band-pass filter employing resistor
and capacitor.
The filter 210 filters the output voltage of the battery. Through
filtering, the high-frequency noise 202 is removed from the output
voltage. As shown in a waveform 211, the high-frequency noise 202
is removed.
The filtered output voltage is input or transferred to the
insulator 220. The insulator 220 is configured to electrically
insulate the battery from a controller in a slave battery
management apparatus. As shown in a waveform 221, a voltage having
passed through the insulator 220 decreases.
The voltage having passed through the insulator 220 is input or
transferred to the converter 230. The converter 230 converts the
vertically swinging voltage into a DC voltage. The converter 230
is, for example, an alternating current to direct current (AC/DC)
converter such as a rectifier employing a plurality of diodes
interconnected in a bridge circuit. A waveform 231 represents the
DC voltage. In this example, the DC voltage includes a ripple
component.
The DC voltage is input or transferred to the smoother 240. The
smoother 240 removes the ripple component from the DC voltage. The
smoother 240 is, for example, a smoothing circuit including a
capacitor. A waveform 241 represents a DC voltage obtained by
removing the ripple component, for example, a substantially
ripple-free DC voltage.
The substantially ripple-free DC voltage is input or transferred to
the constant voltage maintainer 250. The constant voltage
maintainer 250, such as a voltage source, adjusts a magnitude of
the ripple-free DC voltage. For example, when the output voltage of
the battery is less than the required voltage of the controller,
the constant voltage maintainer 250 steps up the DC voltage. A
waveform 251 represents a stepped-up DC voltage. When the output
voltage of the battery is greater than or equal to the required
voltage of the controller, the constant voltage maintainer 250
steps down the DC voltage. A waveform 252 represents a stepped-down
DC voltage.
The constant voltage maintainer 250 is, for example, a DC-to-DC
(DC/DC) converter, a voltage regulator, or a DC regulated circuit.
In one example, a capacitor is provided at an input end of the
DC/DC converter, the voltage regulator, or the DC regulated circuit
to remove a ripple component. The capacitor transfers a ripple-free
DC voltage to the DC/DC converter, the voltage regulator, or the DC
regulated circuit.
The stepped-up DC voltage or the stepped-down DC voltage is
supplied to the controller, and the controller uses the stepped-up
DC voltage or the stepped-down DC voltage as the operating power
from the same battery under management without an additional
external power supply.
FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a slave battery management
apparatus.
Referring to FIG. 3, a slave battery management apparatus 300
includes a voltage converter 310, a sensor 320, a controller 330,
and a DC/DC converter 340.
The voltage converter 310 is electrically connected to a battery
350 and receives an output physical quantity from the battery 350.
The voltage converter 310 converts the output physical quantity of
the battery 350 into an operating physical quantity of the
controller 330. As discussed above, the voltage converter 310
converts the output physical quantity of the battery 350 to
correspond to a required physical quantity of the controller 330.
Because the descriptions of FIGS. 1 and 2 are also applicable here,
repeated descriptions with respect to the voltage converter 310
will be omitted for clarity and conciseness.
The sensor 320 senses a physical quantity of the battery 350. Since
the descriptions of FIG. 1 are also applicable here, repeated
descriptions with respect to the sensor 320 will be omitted.
The controller 330 uses the physical quantity supplied from the
voltage converter 310 as an operating power. The controller 330
uses, as the operating voltage, a voltage into which the output
voltage of the battery 350 corresponding to the sensing target
battery is converted, in lieu of a voltage supplied from an
external power source. Thus, the slave battery management apparatus
300 both measures and operates based solely on the battery 350.
The slave battery management apparatus 300 performs a plurality of
operations using the operating physical quantity as the operating
power. While the operating physical quantity is used as the
operating power, the controller 220 generates battery data by
processing a sensed physical quantity and transmits the battery
data to a master battery management apparatus (as seen in FIG. 1).
The controller 330 generates physical quantity data, for example,
voltage data, current data, and temperature data from the sensed
physical quantity, and determines state information of the battery
350 based on the physical quantity data. The battery data includes
the state information. The state information determined by the
controller 330 is also be referred to as, for example, state
information_1. The controller 330 transmits the state information_1
to the master battery management apparatus.
The master battery management apparatus receives the state
information_1 from the slave battery management apparatus 300.
Also, the master battery management apparatus receives state
information_n from another slave battery management apparatus (such
as seen in FIG. 1).
The master battery management apparatus receives state information
from each of a plurality of state battery management apparatuses
and determines pack state information of a battery pack including a
plurality of batteries based on the received state information. For
example, the master battery management apparatus receives state
information, for example State of Charge: SOC_1 to SOC_n from the
plurality n of slave battery management apparatuses and determines
an average SOC of the state information SOC_1 to SOC_n to be the
pack state information. The master battery management apparatus
receives state information State of Health SOH_1 to SOH_n from the
plurality n of slave battery management apparatuses and determines
an average SOH of the state information SOH_1 to SOH_n to be the
pack state information. The master battery management apparatus
also determines a result obtained by multiplying the average SOC by
the average SOH to be the pack state information. Since each of the
slave battery management apparatuses determines state information
of a corresponding battery, the master battery management apparatus
may not calculate the state information for each of the batteries.
Accordingly, an operation amount of the master battery management
apparatus is significantly reduced.
The master battery management apparatus transmits the pack state
information and/or the state information of each of the plurality
of batteries to an electronic control unit (ECU). The ECU outputs
either one or both of the pack state information and/or the state
information of each of the plurality of batteries to a display such
as a dashboard.
The master battery management apparatus determines a control value
to control the DC/DC converter 340. For example, the master battery
management apparatus determines a control value corresponding to
the state information based on a required physical quantity of a
load 360. A procedure of determining a control value in the master
battery management apparatus is further described with reference to
FIG. 4.
The master battery management apparatus transmits the control value
to the slave battery management apparatus 300. The controller 330
controls the DC/DC converter 340 based on the control value. The
DC/DC converter 340 converts an electrical physical quantity, for
example, a voltage, a current, and/or a power of the battery 350
into an electrical physical quantity to be used by the load 360.
The load 360 includes a low-voltage load or a high-voltage load.
The low-voltage load includes a system operable at a low voltage,
for example, 12 V such as a posture control system or a temperature
control system of an electric vehicle. The high-voltage load
includes, for example, a charger including an onboard charger or an
inverter of the electric vehicle. When the battery 350 supplies
power to the low-voltage load, the DC/DC converter 340 converts the
output voltage of the battery 350 into an operating voltage of the
low-voltage load.
FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a plurality of cooperative slave
battery management apparatuses.
FIG. 4 illustrates a plurality of slave battery management
apparatuses 410, 420, 430, and 440 and a respectively corresponding
plurality of batteries 411, 421, 431, and 441. State information of
each of the plurality of batteries 411, 421, 431, and 441 is also
illustrated in FIG. 4. In an example of FIG. 4, state information
of the battery 411 is the highest and state information of the
battery 441 is the lowest.
In the example shown, the state information of the battery 441 is
lower than those of the batteries 411, 421, and 431. Thus, when
each of the plurality of batteries 411, 421, 431, and 441 supplies
the same power to a load 450, the battery 441 and battery 431 may
be over-discharged. In this example, a life degradation speed of a
battery pack including the plurality of batteries 411, 421, 431,
and 441 may increase and the battery pack may be used
inefficiently.
Each of the plurality of slave battery management apparatuses 410,
420, 430, and 440 transmits state information of a corresponding
battery to a master battery management apparatus. The master
battery management apparatus receives state information_1, state
information_2, state information_3, and state information_4, . . .
state information n, corresponding to the plurality of batteries
411, 421, 431, and 441, respectively. Although four batteries are
shown (for convenience, clarity, and conciseness) any suitable
number of batteries may be used.
The master battery management apparatus determines control values
corresponding to the state information_1, the state information_2,
the state information_3, and the state information_4. For example,
when the state information_2, the state information_3, and the
state information_4 is 1, 0.75, 0.5, and 0.25, respectively, a
ratio between a sum of state information and the state
information_1 is 0.4 (=1/2.5) and a ratio between the sum of state
information and the state information_2 is 0.3 (=0.75/2.5). Also, a
ratio between the sum of state information and the state
information_3 is 0.2 (=0.5/2.5) and a ratio between the sum of
state information and the state information_4 is 0.1 (=0.25/2.5).
In this example, when a required physical quantity of the load 450
is 90 watts (W), the master battery management apparatus determines
the control value for controlling a DC/DC converter 412 based on 36
W (=90*0.4) which proportionately distributes the desired physical
quantity of the load across the batteries according to the ratio of
state information to cumulative state of the battery pack. The
master battery management apparatus transmits the control value to
the slave battery management apparatus 410, and a controller
controls the DC/DC converter 412 such that the DC/DC converter 412
outputs a physical quantity of 36 W. Similarly, the master battery
management apparatus determines control values for controlling
DC/DC converters 422, 432, and 442, and transmits the control
values to the slave battery management apparatuses 420, 430, and
440. The DC/DC converter 422 outputs a physical quantity of 27 W,
the DC/DC converter 432 outputs a physical quantity of 18 W, and
the DC/DC converter 442 outputs a physical quantity of 9 W for a
combined total of 90 W.
A battery having high state information is adaptively controlled to
supply a relatively large physical quantity to the load 450, and a
battery having low state information is adaptively controlled to
supply a relatively small physical quantity to the load 450. In
other words, each of the plurality of slave battery management
apparatuses 410, 420, 430, and 440 performs an individual load
control. Accordingly, a life degradation of the battery pack may be
alleviated, an available capacity of the battery pack may increase,
and whether a malfunction is to occur may be more easily
predicted.
Because the descriptions of FIGS. 1 through 3 are also applicable
here, repeated descriptions with respect to FIG. 4 will be omitted
for clarity and conciseness.
FIG. 5 illustrates an example of an operation mode of a slave
battery management apparatus.
Referring to FIG. 5, an operation mode of a slave battery
management apparatus includes at least a normal mode and a sleep
mode. A master battery management apparatus determines whether the
slave battery management apparatus is to be in the normal mode or
the sleep mode. As illustrated in FIG. 5, when state information is
less than or equal to a reference value, for example, a reference
value x (due to e.g. a discharging of a battery), the master
battery management apparatus changes the operation mode of the
slave battery management apparatus to be the sleep mode. Also, the
master battery management apparatus defines a first control signal
and transmits the first control signal to the slave battery
management apparatus. The slave battery management apparatus enters
the sleep mode based on the first control signal.
When the battery is charged, state information of the battery
changes. Through this, the state information of the battery may
exceed a reference value. In this example, the master battery
management apparatus defines a second control signal and transmits
the second control signal to the slave battery management
apparatus. The slave battery management apparatus enters the normal
mode based on the second control signal.
Because the descriptions of FIGS. 1 through 4 are also applicable
here, repeated descriptions with respect to FIG. 5 will be
omitted.
FIG. 6 illustrates an example of an operation method of a slave
battery management apparatus.
A power supply of a slave battery management apparatus is not an
external power source but the sensing target battery.
Referring to FIG. 6, in operation 610, the slave battery management
apparatus receives an output physical quantity of a battery. In
this example, the battery is a battery sensed and/or controlled by
the slave battery management apparatus.
In operation 620, the slave battery management apparatus converts
the output physical quantity into an operating physical quantity
corresponding to a required physical quantity of a controller.
In operation 630, the slave battery management apparatus uses the
operating physical quantity as the operating power. Through this,
the slave battery management apparatus receives a voltage, a
current, and/or power from the sensing target battery and performs
a plurality of operations. The plurality of operations includes,
for example, a sensing operation, an operation of processing a
sensed physical quantity, and/or a communicating operation.
Because the descriptions of FIGS. 1 through 5 are also applicable
here, repeated descriptions with respect to FIG. 6 will be
omitted.
FIG. 7 illustrates an example of providing battery state
information.
Referring to FIG. 7, a physical application such as an electric
vehicle 710 includes a battery system 720. The aforementioned
physical application is merely an example and thus, a type of
physical application is not limited to the example.
The battery system 720 includes a battery 730 and a battery
management system 740.
The battery 730 is, for example, a battery pack. The battery pack
includes a plurality of battery modules or a plurality of battery
cells.
The battery management system 740 includes a master battery
management apparatus and a slave battery management apparatus as
discussed in the foregoing explanation. As described with reference
to FIG. 4, the slave battery management apparatus is electrically
connected to a battery cell. For example, when four battery cells
are provided, the slave battery management apparatuses is
electrically connected to the respective battery cells. In other
words, a slave battery management apparatus corresponding to each
of the battery cells is included in the physical application.
As discussed above, the slave battery management apparatus receives
a power from a corresponding battery cell in lieu of a power supply
source, for example, a 12 V lead storage battery in an electric
vehicle. The slave battery management apparatus performs a
plurality of operations using the power supplied from the
corresponding battery cell. The slave battery management apparatus
senses a physical quantity of the corresponding battery cell and
processes the sensed physical quantity. The sensed physical
quantity may be an analog electric signal, for example, a voltage
signal. The controller of the slave battery management apparatus
includes an analog-to-digital (ADC) converter. The ADC converter
converts the electric signal into battery data corresponding to
digital data. Also, the slave battery management apparatus
transmits the battery data to the master battery management
apparatus.
For example, the master battery management apparatus receives
physical quantity data from each of the plurality of slave battery
management apparatuses. In this example, the master battery
management apparatus determines cell state information of each of
the plurality of battery cells. The cell state information include
either one or both of an SOC and/or an SOH. The master battery
management apparatus determines pack state information of each of
the battery packs based on the state information of the plurality
of battery cells in each pack. Also, the master battery management
apparatus receives the cell state information from each of the
plurality of slave battery management apparatuses. The master
battery management apparatus determines the pack state information
of the battery pack based on a plurality of items of cell state
information.
The battery management system 740 transmits the pack state
information and/or the cell state information to a terminal 750
through a communication interface. The terminal 750 displays the
pack state information and/or the cell state information on, e.g.,
a window 760 of a display.
Because the descriptions of FIGS. 1 through 6 are also applicable
here, repeated descriptions with respect to FIG. 7 will be omitted
for clarity and conciseness.
FIG. 8 illustrates an example of providing battery state
information.
Referring to FIG. 8, state information 810 of each of a plurality
of battery cells is output to a dashboard. As discussed above, a
slave battery management apparatus determines a cell state
information of a corresponding battery cell and transmits the cell
state information to a master battery management apparatus.
The master battery management apparatus receives cell state
information of a plurality of battery cells from a plurality of
slave battery management apparatuses. The master battery management
apparatus transmits the cell state information of the plurality of
battery cells to a controller such as an electronic control unit
(ECU) and the ECU outputs the cell state information to the
dashboard. According to one or more embodiments, the master battery
management apparatus may omit the ECU and transmit the cell state
information directly to the dashboard.
Because the descriptions of FIGS. 1 through 7 are also applicable
here, repeated descriptions with respect to FIG. 8 will be
omitted.
The sensor 112, controller 113, filter 210, Insulator 220,
converter 230, smoother 240, constant voltage maintainer 250, slave
battery management system 410-440 in FIGS. 1-4 and 7 that perform
the operations described in this application are implemented by
hardware components configured to perform the operations described
in this application that are performed by the hardware components.
Examples of hardware components that may be used to perform the
operations described in this application, where appropriate,
include controllers, sensors, generators, drivers, memories,
comparators, arithmetic logic units, adders, subtractors,
multipliers, dividers, integrators, and any other electronic
components configured to perform the operations described in this
application. In other examples, one or more of the hardware
components that perform the operations described in this
application are implemented by computing hardware, for example, by
one or more processors or computers. A processor or computer may be
implemented by one or more processing elements, such as an array of
logic gates, a controller and an arithmetic logic unit, a digital
signal processor, a microcomputer, a programmable logic controller,
a field-programmable gate array, a programmable logic array, a
microprocessor, or any other device or combination of devices that
is configured to respond to and execute instructions in a defined
manner to achieve a desired result. In one example, a processor or
computer includes, or is connected to, one or more memories storing
instructions or software that are executed by the processor or
computer. Hardware components implemented by a processor or
computer may execute instructions or software, such as an operating
system (OS) and one or more software applications that run on the
OS, to perform the operations described in this application. The
hardware components may also access, manipulate, process, create,
and store data in response to execution of the instructions or
software. For simplicity, the singular term "processor" or
"computer" may be used in the description of the examples described
in this application, but in other examples multiple processors or
computers may be used, or a processor or computer may include
multiple processing elements, or multiple types of processing
elements, or both. For example, a single hardware component or two
or more hardware components may be implemented by a single
processor, or two or more processors, or a processor and a
controller. One or more hardware components may be implemented by
one or more processors, or a processor and a controller, and one or
more other hardware components may be implemented by one or more
other processors, or another processor and another controller. One
or more processors, or a processor and a controller, may implement
a single hardware component, or two or more hardware components. A
hardware component may have any one or more of different processing
configurations, examples of which include a single processor,
independent processors, parallel processors, single-instruction
single-data (SISD) multiprocessing, single-instruction
multiple-data (SIMD) multiprocessing, multiple-instruction
single-data (MISD) multiprocessing, and multiple-instruction
multiple-data (MIMD) multiprocessing.
The methods illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 5-6 that perform the
operations described in this application are performed by computing
hardware, for example, by one or more processors or computers,
implemented as described above executing instructions or software
to perform the operations described in this application that are
performed by the methods. For example, a single operation or two or
more operations may be performed by a single processor, or two or
more processors, or a processor and a controller. One or more
operations may be performed by one or more processors, or a
processor and a controller, and one or more other operations may be
performed by one or more other processors, or another processor and
another controller. One or more processors, or a processor and a
controller, may perform a single operation, or two or more
operations.
Instructions or software to control computing hardware, for
example, one or more processors or computers, to implement the
hardware components and perform the methods as described above may
be written as computer programs, code segments, instructions or any
combination thereof, for individually or collectively instructing
or configuring the one or more processors or computers to operate
as a machine or special-purpose computer to perform the operations
that are performed by the hardware components and the methods as
described above. In one example, the instructions or software
include machine code that is directly executed by the one or more
processors or computers, such as machine code produced by a
compiler. In another example, the instructions or software includes
higher-level code that is executed by the one or more processors or
computer using an interpreter. The instructions or software may be
written using any programming language based on the block diagrams
and the flow charts illustrated in the drawings and the
corresponding descriptions in the specification, which disclose
algorithms for performing the operations that are performed by the
hardware components and the methods as described above.
The instructions or software to control computing hardware, for
example, one or more processors or computers, to implement the
hardware components and perform the methods as described above, and
any associated data, data files, and data structures, may be
recorded, stored, or fixed in or on one or more non-transitory
computer-readable storage media. Examples of a non-transitory
computer-readable storage medium include read-only memory (ROM),
random-access memory (RAM), flash memory, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, CD+Rs,
CD-RWs, CD+RWs, DVD-ROMs, DVD-Rs, DVD+Rs, DVD-RWs, DVD+RWs,
DVD-RAMs, BD-ROMs, BD-Rs, BD-R LTHs, BD-REs, magnetic tapes, floppy
disks, magneto-optical data storage devices, optical data storage
devices, hard disks, solid-state disks, and any other device that
is configured to store the instructions or software and any
associated data, data files, and data structures in a
non-transitory manner and provide the instructions or software and
any associated data, data files, and data structures to one or more
processors or computers so that the one or more processors or
computers can execute the instructions. In one example, the
instructions or software and any associated data, data files, and
data structures are distributed over network-coupled computer
systems so that the instructions and software and any associated
data, data files, and data structures are stored, accessed, and
executed in a distributed fashion by the one or more processors or
computers.
* * * * *